Welcome to the second installation of my "Inspired by YOU" blog series! It is my pleasure to introduce to you one of my Butler University, Kappa Alpha Theta sorority sisters, Tara Rochford!
Tara is extremely talented in many facets of life. She is an incredible singer/performer, she was a fitness instructor abroad a cruise line, and she started an awesome blog named Treble in the Kitchen! Ever since the year she graduated college, she blogs almost every single day, which is inspiring in and of itself!
Tara inspires me in many ways. The first of these is her creativity. Take it from me, blogging takes effort. I can't even imagine doing it everyday! Tara manages to keep it spicy and new with a variety of yummy recipes and challenging workouts that keeps me refreshing Treble in the Kitchen daily! I also think that everyone can learn from how Tara sets specific goals for herself and does her best to attack them. She is extremely driven to follow her passion of becoming a registered dietician. Her Butler professors thought she was crazy for wanting to pursue a double major in music and chemistry so she finished out her degree in music and arts administration. Obviously they didn't know her well enough. Now, she is going back to school studying hard to learn everything she can to open her own practice to share healthy lifestyle tips with her community.
Finally, Tara's bubbly, relatable personality rejuvenates me! Even though we are thousands of miles away from each other, she reminds me to get up, get active, and have a smile on my face while doing it! :)
It was absolutely wonderful catching up with her! We seriously could have talked for hours! Here is how our phone conversation went:
JoAnna: Tell us about your blog!
Tara: I started my blog Treble in the Kitchen, in June 2011. It is a fun blog where you will find recipes (some healthy, some not so much), workouts, and a lot about my personal life. I had been reading blogs for maybe a year or two and the moment I started reading health blogs, I was hooked!
One of my goals for Treble in the Kitchen is to make fitness and healthy living approachable. I want my readers to know that I'm a normal person too! Sometimes I feel good, and other times I don't feel good, and some days I don't know what workout I want to do.. so I want to give a real girl's perspective on how I do fitness and healthy living.
JoAnna: What ignited your passion for fitness/healthy cooking?
Tara: Honestly, as long as I can remember, I had an interest in general health. I was always curious about moving my body and helping mom in the kitchen.
My passion really sparked when I was in 8th grade. I was in a competitive science group and for one of our community projects we decided on the topic of childhood obesity. I learned a lot about how moving your body and eating fruits and veggies were important for the body. As a team we would help educate 5th graders on how to get moving and how to incorporate healthy snacks into their daily lives. It was then when I thought.. ok, this is really cool! I was starting to meet people like me who were as excited about foods and workouts as I was. and it was great to be able to share my knowledge with others.
JoAnna: What was your very first blog post about?
Tara: Oh it was just a basic... "Hey, I'm Tara! I don't know what I'm doing!" haha. I was teaching group fitness at Butler University and I was interested in nutrition. At the time I was studying music but I was so into fitness that I met with my advisor asking them if I could be a dual music and chemistry major! I knew I wanted to learn about the body on a deeper level, but I wasn’t sure what path to take. Blogging was my way to start engaging with the healthy lifestyle community.
JoAnna: Where do you get your fresh ideas for recipes?!
Tara: So I honestly feel like I'm always looking! I get inspiration everywhere! I look at a magazine and if it looks interesting, I'll snap a picture. Then I'll take a look at the ingredients and spice combinations and try to use those same combos in other recipes. Or I'll eat something at a restaurant and say.. hey this tastes amazing.. then I replicate those flavors in different dishes.
JoAnna: Have you had any silly flops for the recipes you've tried?!
Tara: YES! We all love risotto. I tried to make risotto with farro (it is really yummy I promise), but it just did not work out! It was not creamy at all, but we ate it anyways. But that's what's fun about trying new recipes!
JoAnna: Do you have a favorite recipe?
Tara: My gosh! I don't know! "Brian (her husband), what is your favorite dish I make?!" I love trying new stuff all the time. Many times we will say "Oh this is a KEEPER!" and then I won't make it again because I like trying new things haha!
JoAnna: What BIG goals do you have for your future?
Tara: As of right now, I see myself having my own practice as a registered dietician. Either a brick and mortar or doing it online. I want to get out in the community and give seminars to educate people on how to prep food and how to make staples. I want to be known in the community as the nutrition girl. I'd love to work with grocery stores and help other local business.
JoAnna: Who is your biggest inspiration?
Tara: My biggest inspiration is Dr. Libby Weaver. She is a nutritional biochemist from New Zealand. I heard of her when I was working on the cruise line. All my co-workers were very aware of her so I decided to read some of her books and watch her TED Talks. I love how she looks at the intricacies of nutrition such as hormonal balances and how our bodies react to cortisol (that is how our body holds on to fat), all while making it easy to understand.
My big dream would be to collaborate with her one day!
JoAnna: Tell us some handy blogging advice you have learned along the way?
Tara: I would say the biggest piece of blogging advice that I can give is to be yourself. At first it is intimidating to be yourself and to put your personality out there.
You think to yourself, "There are so many other ___ (health, wedding, etc) blogs out there, why would anyone want to read mine?" You have to switch your mind frame around. No one does it like you! That is what is so cool. Everyone puts their own spin on things. Different topics will resonate with different people and that is how we thrive in the blogging community. Be yourself.
You see, Tara is just like all of us and started from the ground up with her blog. But what makes her special is that she strives to be better every day! Be like her. Just START your passion. Do it with a smile. Work at it every day. And as soon as you start, who knows where the road will take you!
